1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manual paper feeding apparatus which manually feeds paper to an electrophotographic copier, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a conventional paper feeding apparatus of this type, which is built in the open/close door provided on the side of the main unit of a copier. This manual paper feeding apparatus is provided with a tray for manual paper feeding. Paper is manually fed from this tray and taken in with a pickup roller, and fed between a paper feed roller and a separation roller. By the rotation of the paper feed roller and separation roller, the sheets of paper are separated one by one, held and carried by a pair of carry rollers, and supplied to an image transfer unit.
However, paper may cause a jam during manual paper feeding. When a paper jam occurs, the door is opened and the manual paper feeding apparatus is removed from the copier, and the jammed paper is removed.
In the conventional manual paper feeding apparatus, a pressure release mechanism is provided, which interlocks with the opening of the door, releases the pressure applied to the paper by separating the paper feed roller and separation roller, and the jammed paper is removed. Thus, there arises inconvenience that a pressurizing mechanism is required, the cost rises, and paper is damaged when the door is opened.